


What Is A True Diamond (In The Rough)?

by Dexiha



Series: Song based fics [4]
Category: Aladdin (1992), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Aladdin AU, As in: the story starts and ends in 2nd person, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Inspired by Music, M/M, Mutilation at one point, Songfic, Street rat!Harry, Sultan!Lucius, Swearing, but the actual story is told in 3rd person, prince!draco, switch of pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-05-15 03:23:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19287106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dexiha/pseuds/Dexiha
Summary: The prompt was sent by AkaShika and was as follows:Song and movie: Prince Ali from AladdinSpecial request: I'd love it if Harry was cast as Aladdin (Sultan Lucius makes me lol)Also, bonus points if you can work the line " hundred bad guys with swords" inSo, yes, this is a fic about Harry, as Aladdin, finding love in the Sultan’s successor; Prince Draco. But it is not only a story about love. It is also about freedom. And about dreams. More specifically, it’s about dreams coming true.





	What Is A True Diamond (In The Rough)?

**Author's Note:**

> A side note: apart from when being a part of the actual song lyrics, I did add the line “hundred bad guys with swords” into the story :)
> 
> Another side note: Not only did I use the prompted song to inspire this fic. In the beginning, you will read the text to the opening song of Aladdin, which is Arabian nights. Then, later in the story, you will read references to both the Disney movie ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aladdin_\(1992_Disney_film\))) as well as the Broadway musical ([link](https://www.nyc.com/broadway_tickets/aladdin.1206808/)), and some parts of the story are taken directly from the movie. 
> 
> At last, I just want to tell you; from the bottom of my heart, I wish you a pleasant ride while reading this story.

* * *

* * *

Arabian drums beat mysteriously in the esoteric night. A nomad approaches the square you’re standing in as string instruments are added to the song playing. Somehow you notice him even though his face is only partially illuminated by red flames. In time with the music, he sings:

 

“Oh, I come from a land, from a faraway place

Where the caravan camels roam

Where it’s flat and immense

And the heat is intense

It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home”

 

Slightly frightened by, but mostly curious of the small man wearing a blue tunic and a white turban, you take a step back from him, but keep your attention on what he is going to say next. Naturally, he notices your interest and he turns directly to you.

 

“Ah, salaam and good evening to you, worthy friend

Please, please, come closer.”

 

You feel quite offended by his demand to invade your personal space and decide to repay him by stepping upon his feet.

 

“Ah , too close, a little too close!”

 

You snort, but back off again. You are after all a decent human being.

 

“There,” the small man continues, “Welcome to Agrabah, city of mystery, of enchantment.

And the finest merchandise this side of the River Jordan, on sale today. Come on down.”

 

While rapidly ranting out the last part, seemingly out of nowhere he manages to produce a small stand with loads of trinkets that he’s obviously trying to sell. Your interest in the man immediately starts to dissipate — he’s not nearly as curious as he first seemed to be if he’s only a salesman — when he continues:

 

“Look at this, yes combination hookah and coffee maker, also makes Julienne Fries. It will not break, it will no — it broke…

 

“Oh, look at this, I have never seen one of these intact before

This is the famous Dead Sea Tupperware!

Listen! Aah, still good.”

 

You realise you’re better off wasting your time elsewhere. Though he evidently has his rather (unintentional) hilarious moments, there are better places to be. Like, in your room in your hotel. You turn around to leave.

 

“Wait! Don’t go!” the man shouts. “I can see you’re only interested in the exceptionally rare. I think, then, that you’d be the most rewarded to consider this.”

 

He takes out a rather dusty, old oil lamp and though something about it sparks your interest to flower again, you do not let it show.

 

“Do not be fooled by its commonplace appearance

Like so many things it is not what is outside, but what is inside that counts

This is no ordinary lamp

It once changed the course of a young man’s life

A young man who, like this lamp, was more than he seemed — a diamond in the rough.

 

“Perhaps you’d like to hear the tale?”

 

Now, this was something more interesting. You are never one to turn down a great story. You nod and settle down on the sand next to man.

 

* * *

* * *

 

The sky was a dull blue, dimmed by the high heat that was the result of the sun shining brightly on the sandy ground. Any wise man would make sure to keep still for the time being, spare the energy for later activities and draw back to the shade and stay at ease. And most people did so. Imagine the surprise these people felt when a young boy clad in ragged clothing suddenly burst through the street, followed by angry shouts of ‘Stop him!’, ‘Thief!’ and ‘Riff Raff!’ coming from a swarm of palace guards. Though this did make a lot of villagers peek out of their homes, it didn’t help the guards to catch the boy — he was out of reach before anyone had realised what was going on.

 

Suddenly, the shouted insults are drowned out by a loud crash. The boy had run up a pile of wooden boxes, and in the rush accidentally sent a barrel falling onto the guards.

 

“What do you think you’re doing, street rat?” the guard in question spat. “Isn’t stealing enough of an offence for you? You have to go and assault a guard as well? Just wait ‘til we get ya!”

 

“Just a little snack guys… and my name isn’t ‘street rat’, it’s Harry!” the boy shouted back nonchalantly before jumping onto a rooftop and speeding away from the scene.

 

Barely had he gotten a couple of roofs away when he noticed a shadow quickly approaching him, causing him a brief sensation of fear to strike through his chest. After a quick glance towards it though, he immediately calmed down as he recognised it.

 

“Aah, hi there Abu. You alright, buddy?” he greeted the monkey who swiftly climbed up to sit on Harry’s shoulder.

 

Abu chattered a rather long rant, to which Harry nodded along with a serious expression, until Abu got silent and he smiled a cheeky grin at the monkey.

 

“Don’t worry, it was no big deal. They couldn’t have caught me, I promise. It’s not like there were a hundred bad guys with swords… only ten guards with swords! I’m sorry for worrying you, but I do have something to make it up for you.”

 

From the left pocket of his trousers, Harry pulled out a freshly baked, still warm loaf of bread which he quickly broke into two equally big pieces and he handed one of them to Abu. Just as he was about to dig his teeth in to his part though, Harry noticed something in the corner of his eye: two children, about half his age, longingly eyeing the small piece of food. They wore clothes just as ragged as his, but unlike him, they didn’t have a light in their eyes, they had no hope for what happiness would come upon them in the future. It reminded him of how he himself had looked when he was younger, just after his parents had passed away and his aunt and uncle had thrown him out onto the street.

 

 _He had wandered the streets for just over a week, and just as he was getting too weak to keep walking, he had stumbled upon an old man. The man was sitting with his back rested against a house wall and around him sat a number of children. As far as Harry could see, they were kids of all social stands_ — _rich and poor, children of nobility and street rats. And they were all listening intently to the old man as he told them some story. Hesitantly, Harry had let himself rest for a while as he sat down with the group and joined their listening. The story was great, it was absolutely nothing wrong with it, yet Harry had found himself losing his concentration quite soon. Maybe it was his lack of nutrition that made his mind wander. Anyhow, as he looked around him, noticing the beautiful patterns that were braided onto the rich daughters brightly coloured dresses and the neatly cut hair of their brothers. He noticed how they didn’t have any shadows haunting their faces, no sunken-in cheeks. He imagined how it’d be if he was one of them, if he got fed any of the food he’d dreamed of._

 

_It was while he was watching a boy in his age, clad in dark blue coat decorated with silver swirls and pearls, that he also noticed something small moving swiftly between the children. It was so fast it was almost impossible for Harry to follow it with his eyes, no less identify what it was. But at some point, it stood still for a second and let its eyes meet with Harry’s. It was a monkey. Harry continued to follow the creature with his eyes, and soon he realised that it had some sort of purpose, for it only stopped for a millisecond whenever it sped by any of the rich kids. Then, suddenly, it was completely gone. And soon after that, the old man finished his story. The children clapped their hands and smiled before dispersing. Rich kids quickly went to whichever store their parents were currently shopping in and poor children slowly shook themselves out of their trance, back into the brisk reality. Harry, however, stayed put on the ground opposite to the old man._

 

_“What d’you want, kid?” rasped the old man, pointing a crooked finger at Harry._

 

_“What’s its name?” he asked._

 

_“Come again?”_

 

_“What’s its name? The monkey? What’s it called?”_

 

_“Ah, you saw my young friend, Abu, I take it. You’re one clever boy, you are. And you must be rather special for Abu letting you see him.”_

 

_“Abu…” Harry tested the name on his tongue. It rang rather beautifully, if he was honest. “I like it. So… what was he doing? Rushing between the colourfully clothed kids?”_

 

_“Hm… you’re rather oblivious, aren’t you?” the man hummed. “I can see why he likes you.”_

 

_Harry stared at him questioningly, as he didn’t understand anything of what the man had just said._

 

_“He collects funds for my stories, you see,” the man explained after a moment of contemplating._

 

_“I don’t understand.”_

 

_“My child, those young people you were talking about, they always have something of value in their pockets. Things you and I could only dream of having without having to use it up within the day. So, Abu collects them and gives them to other people who are in greater need of them. Such as yourself, I imagine.”_

 

_“Me? I don’t need nothing.”_

 

_“Tell me, my child, what did you bring in your pockets?”_

 

_“Uh, nothing…?”_

 

_“Well then, take a look at what you’ll bring with you from this story.”_

 

_Harry looked down on his trousers and stuck a trembling hand into his pocket. Inside the cloth his hand brushed against something smooth, cold. When he pulled it out into the open, he saw that it was a golden coin._

 

_“But, sir,” he said, still looking unbelievingly at the piece of money. “I’m not in greater need of this.”_

 

_When he didn’t receive a response, Harry raised his head again, only to see that the old man was gone._

 

_That coin had been enough for Harry to buy himself enough food for the rest of the month, if he rationed it well enough. As it happened, it only lasted four days, for wherever he went, he saw others that needed the food more than him._

 

Harry shook the memory out of his head and focused on the young brother and sister that were still watching his bread hungrily. He didn’t need any more pondering. He cooed gently to the two children, reassuring them that he would do them no harm, and he offered his piece of bread to them. Next to him, he could hear Abu chatter disapprovingly, just like he had always done whenever he saw Harry giving away his food. Harry ignored him, and firmly gave it away before walking out of the alley.

 

Soon after, he heard the rustling of Abu following him. The monkey once again took its place on Harry’s shoulder.

 

“Did you give it to them?” he asked and got another angry chatter in reply. “Good boy, Abu.” Harry smiled and pet the monkey on its head. “Now, let’s work together and we’ll get another one. Or a watermelon. How about that?” They headed out on the street again, making their way towards the main market street where it’d be easy to snatch a piece of food without getting caught thanks to the crowds.

 

* * *

 

On the other end of the street, a new figure made an appearance. A man draped in a heavy cloak. Though it did hide most of him, it didn’t cover everything. It didn’t quite make him look like one of the common people, and the jewellery on his turban, glittering through the shadow of his hood, clearly told that this was someone of a high rank. He was born and raised in this town, yet no one knew him and neither did he know any of his neighbours. He was a stranger in his own town.

 

He slowly paced forwards along the street, curiously watching the goods and foods each stand was selling. Whenever something piqued his interest a bit more than normal, he’d stop by and make sure to buy something. With his wealth, he was determined to give some of it to people that clearly needed it more than he did. Dinner and clothes from India: a common sari jama, a deep bandhgala suit, an angarkha, some handmade jewellery.

 

The further into the street he got, the more the stands sold more common goods for the city’s population’s everyday needs. It was a wonder to see these normal folks walking about the street, stopping and greeting whenever they saw someone they knew or loudly bargaining with each other over how much a certain honey melon should cost.

 

Lost in thought, the man didn’t notice the large man that approached him on his right side until the man was over him and snatched his small, black and gold leather bag.

 

“Hey!” he shouted. “Give that back!”

 

“Not unless you give me something else!” the man smirked and leaned dangerously close as if to prove his point.

 

“What would that be?” he asked, a tinge too naive and oblivious to understand. The larger man laughed a sickening laugh and took a step closer, sneaking a hand onto the smaller man’s hip, only to snatch him towards his large body.

 

“I’d say something… like _you_ …”

 

“I would _never_!” he snarled, helplessly trying to writhe out of the other man’s firm grip.

Another laugh escaped the man’s obnoxious mouth and he tightened his grip even more. He let the bag drop to the ground and he moved to place his hand upon the smaller man’s shoulder, threatening to take off his hood.

 

“Don’t you dare,” he growled.

 

“Oh, don’t I? You’d be surprised to see exactly how much _I_ dare to do. Especially with someone like _you_.”

 

* * *

 

Harry was in the middle of a conversation with a salesman, while Abu was taking a couple of oranges behind his back, when the shouts further down the street drew his interest. As he turned away from the sales stand, the marketer turned around as  well… just in time to see Abu jumping onto the stand’s roof, arms full of fruits.

 

“Filthy, thieving monkey, come back here!” he shouted.

 

Naturally, the monkey didn’t listen. Instead, he jumped onto Harry’s shoulder and the two sped off down the street — towards the tumult Harry had heard a few moments earlier and away from the swearing salesman.

 

What  met him upon his arrival wasn’t an unusual view per se, but there was one significant difference. There was a large man who had taken possession of a much smaller person who he probably planned to perform his needs on. Only, usually that happened to the petite girls in town. And this person was… well, ‘petite’ certainly was the right word, but ‘girl’ was not. In the hands of the large man was another smaller, hooded man who furiously kicked about, trying to get free.

 

“Let him go, you gora!” Harry shouted. “Get on someone your own size!”

 

Instantly, Harry had half of the people in the street staring at him, including the man he had addressed. The man turned to face Harry, smiling a toothy grin, still holding his prey tightly to his chest.

 

“Or what?” the man laughed. “You’re gonna punch me? Go ahead. I’ll let you try, little _sarsur_.”

 

Without letting his worry show, Harry looked around the street, evaluating what was in reach and what he could use to help the trapped man. He knew that he’d be no match in force compared to the capturer, but he’s smarter and quicker. There _must_ be something. His eyes fell upon a palace guard standing just outside the circle of people surrounding the scene, talking animatedly with a woman. Harry let a smirk spread onto his face before he told Abu to take off to their home and that he’d meet him there.

 

“Yeah sure, old man, you know as well as I do that I don’t stand a chance against you in a boxing match. I had another idea in mind.” Harry took an effortless jump towards the man only to then dodge back and manuouver to the guard. Swiftly, he drew the sword from its sheath, and turned back to his opponent. “I was thinking you and I could have a little fencing match.”

 

Before the man could react, Harry danced around him, slashing with the sword back and forth, up and down, here and there before taking a few steps back. He’d gotten some nice cuts in the man’s rich but dirty clothing, yet not harmed him in any way. Except for one thing. His hand. The hand which had previously been holding onto the smaller man was now laying on the ground.

 

Everything was deadly quiet. No one made a sound. Like the calm before the storm. Like the silence before a child starts to scream after stubbing their toe. Harry knew that things were about to get a lot worse if he were to stay, so that was something he didn’t plan on doing. But first, he’d need to help the hooded stranger out of there. Quickly, he shot forwards to help him stand up.

 

“Hey, come here, I’ll get you outta here.”

 

Harry grabbed the man’s hand and turned to flee the scene. But. His path was blocked. By the palace guard.

 

“Well, look who we’ve got here,” the guard smiled ruefully. “If it isn’t the infamous street rat, Harry Potter!”

 

“Indeed, it is me,” Harry answered hurriedly. “And if you don’t mind, I have to get out of here to help this man to somewhere safe! Before that gora over there is gonna kill both of us.”

 

“Won’t do that, twat. Only way you’re getting out of here is by me escorting you away. And I won’t let you do that until you’ve given me my saber back.”

 

Not until then did Harry realise he still held the blade in his hand. Without hesitation, he handed the sword to the guard before pleading tumult — yeah, actually _pleading_ _tumult_ — the guard to get them out of there. Dear Allah, did he wish that no one would bring this up in the future. So embarrassing!

 

The guard did as he said he would. After casting a warning glance at the newly dehanded man, he led Harry and the stranger out of there. They kept walking until they came to a less busy part of the street.

 

“Right. You,” he said and gestured to the stranger, “you can hurry along, get lost.”

 

“What’s gonna happen to him?” the man asked, nodding towards Harry.

 

“Hmpf, justice. And unless you move along, you’re gonna get a piece of that as well.”

 

“I don’t think so.”

 

The man’s reply clearly provoked the guard a lot, for he visibly clenched his jaw and raised his hand. Harry quickly understood what was going to happen, and before knowing it, he had once again grabbed the other man’s hand and dragged him away. They ran through alleys and back streets. Harry navigated them around corners and along house walls, up over roofs and under gates, until finally they halted outside a makeshift door made of a simple cloth hanging in front of an opening.

 

“So… welcome to my place…” Harry mumbled before moving the fabric to the side, clearing a path through which the man could enter the ‘house.’

 

Inside, there really wasn’t much. A frayed mattress acted as a bed, covered in several pieces of textiles. Some old, secondhand cupboards that Harry had gotten from an old lady as a gift for helping her buying her weekly supplies for a couple of months. On top of one of them there are a couple of random items; his own collection of things of sentimental value. On the other side of the room there was a window which faced the rooftops of the city and… the palace. Harry’s favourite thing about this place was the view of the palace. It was what gave him the motivation to go through another day.

 

In one of the corners of the room, a stool was placed. Right now, that chair was occupied by one wary-looking monkey.

 

“Hey Abu, you okay?” Harry asked and went over to pet the animal. “You still got those oranges?”

 

It was a dumb question, really, for Harry could see the fruits laying on the table below the windowsill, but he still asked in an attempt to soften Abu’s mood. The monkey just huffed annoyingly and snatched an orange which he began to peel, ignoring Harry’s sorrowful looks. Harry hated to upset his best friend. But for now, there really wasn’t much he could do. So he turned back to their new guest.

 

“Yeah so… this is Abu. He’s my… comrade and my best friend. And I’m Harry, but I guess you already got that figured out since you heard the palace guard before. And yeah… what’s your name?”

 

“I hardly see why it’s relevant for you to know my name, Harry,” the man mumbled.

 

“Well, I did save you, back there. I won’t ask for anything except your name. Don’t want nothing from you, but it’d be nice to know _who_ it was that I helped.”

 

The man simply huffed and occupied himself with inspecting Harry’s home.

 

“This is where you live? Alone?” When Harry only nodded in response he continued, “Where are your parents? You don’t seem to really be old enough to live on your own.”

 

At that Harry quickly looked down on his feet, suddenly very interested in the layers of dust that covered them. But, for some reason he yet didn’t know, he wanted this stranger to trust him. So he swallowed hard a couple of times before hoarsely answering.

 

“My… they… they died. When I was young… well, younger. And my uncle hated me because he and his wife didn’t approve of my mom. She was of pretty high rank in India, but chose to marry lower. She chose to marry for love. And create love. And move to love. Wherever she went, she’d spread happiness and make life a little bit more enjoyable. My father was… a sweet man, and he loved my mother. He let her bring her own Indian traditions here, for he thought anything she did was truly beautiful. I don’t remember much, but I remember how they always looked at each other with love and that their touch were always warm. But yeah, my uncle and aunt didn’t approve, so they threw me out. At first I was alone. But then I met this old man and Abu. They taught me to keep up hope, to keep believing that my dream of feeling that warmth again would come true. So yeah, I’m not… in a family, but I have Abu, so I’m not alone.”

 

The man looked curiously upon Harry with an unwavering gaze, yet it didn’t make Harry uncomfortable. He liked being watched by this man.

 

“What about you? What’s your story?” he asked. Not really expecting a reply, he only waited a few seconds before continuing with his own story. “You know, all my life I’ve felt… trapped. Like the corners of this room, the streets of this town, are holding me back. I want to be free.”

 

“I know how that feels,” the man cut in, surprising Harry. “I… I come from a place where… freedom really isn’t a thing. All I ever wanted was to get out of the walls surrounding me, get out and explore the world.”

 

Harry looked at the man the entire time he was speaking, drinking in the looks of his soft lips forming the words, the muscles in his face working to show expressions. He was beautiful. Inside and out. Dear Allah, Harry was in trouble.

 

“Yes! Exactly. But when you’re… poor… like me, you don’t really have many options, do you? It’s all about getting through the day, earning your daily bread if you can. Dreams stay dreams. But dreams are still important. They are what keep you alive, so that you don’t just survive.”

 

“You said you remember love, Harry, but what do you dream of?”

 

“Come here,” Harry said, leading the man to the window where they sit down on the windowsill. He points to the palace. “You see over there? The palace? That’s my dream. To live there. It must be really nice to not have to fight for a loaf of bread if you want to eat something that day. Don’t you think?”

 

Too occupied watching as the sunset coloured the palace walls golden, Harry didn’t notice the bitter tone in the man’s voice as he hummed in response. But the man looked out the window and tried to open his heart to the perspective of Harry. He looked at the palace, at its pride and maybe, just maybe he could understand part of it. For someone who had nothing but dreams, he could definitely understand that the palace in its glamour was something of great value.

 

When Harry finally turned to face the other man, he found him looking out the window with wide, wondrous eyes as if he had never seen a view like that which he saw right now. Harry watched him with fascination. The man was hiding most of his appearance with his hood, and the cloak didn’t reveal any of what kind of clothing he was wearing beneath. Yet, there was something about him that made Harry feel all giddy. And safe.

 

Harry kept telling the man stories about his life, different adventures he had experienced with Abu, as they shared the fruit that Abu had knicked before. In return, the stranger opened up little by little, told more about himself but still without really telling who he was. Every word he said though sent warmth into Harry’s heart and he just couldn’t find it in himself to stop watching the other man while he spoke. His voice was soft, and his words enchanting.

 

And the dreams he spoke of were full of wisdom, and Harry felt like he could listen to his tales forever, even though he’d never know who the man really was. He had humour and cared about other people in a way that was very similar to how Harry operated with the people he met in the streets. The longer Harry watched this man, taking in the smooth white skin and silver eyes that he could make out under the hood, and listened to his voice, the more his heart ached. He _never_ wanted this day to be over.

 

Just as the stranger seemed to becoming completely relaxed, and he lifted his hands to draw back the hood, there was a loud bang coming from outside the doorway. A moment later, the room was invaded by at least a dozen palace guards, all of them with swords drawn as they surrounded the two men. In an instant Abu was sitting on Harry’s shoulder, chattering agitatedly.

 

“Harry Potter, we have come to arrest you on behalf of a royal order,” one of the guards growled.

 

“On whose request comes this order?” the stranger asked, stepping up in between the guards and Harry.

 

“It’s none of your business, Riff Raff, now get out of the way!” another guard spat.

 

“I’d like you to rephrase that, and that’s an order!” he demanded, and removed the cloak.

 

Harry felt his jaw drop, but he didn’t care. In front of him stood the prince of Agrabah! Clad in his famous golden turban as well as beautifully decorated thawb. Everyone knew that contrary to most royal families in the Arabic Countries, the Sultan of Agrabah loved to add swirling streaks of gold onto their otherwise plain thawbs, and the evidence of that was now standing right in front of Harry.

 

“Prince Draco!” the first guard cried out. “My apologies, your highness. We did not know it was thee who were hidden beneath that hood.”

 

“Yes, sir, now, I demand you to let this go as well as giving me an answer. Who. Ordered. Harry. To. Be. Arrested?”

 

“Your highness, it was Grand Vizier Jafar. We can not let him go. He must come with us.”

 

The prince turned back around and faced Harry.

 

“It’s alright, Harry. I’ll tell them about how you saved me today. It’ll be alright. _Do you trust me_ ? Also, please believe me: _My father will hear about this_!”

 

Harry didn’t even find it in himself to answer. He still had to let the view of the prince in front of him sink in. Had he thought the man was beautiful _before_ taking off the hood, it was nothing compared to now. No shadows hid his silver eyes or his porcelain skin. The light rays that shone through the doorway bounced upon his cheekbones, illuminating perfect angles and Harry was doomed. A thousand thoughts rushed through Harry’s mind and he couldn’t make sense of any of them. Still confused, he let the guards cuff him and then lead him off towards the palace dungeons.

 

* * *

 

Draco stormed through the palace doors, loudly demanding to see his father. When the tall man strode into the hallway, Draco immediately started to rant about what had happened. He told his father about the amazing day he had spent in the city streets, how good it had been until he had been snatched by that awful man. Then he told him about the brave man named Harry who had saved him, going out of his way to get Draco out of the man’s grasp. And he told his father about the residence Harry lived in and the cute — but fierce — monkey who was his best friend. Lastly, Draco told him about how the guards had just barged in and demanded his arrest, ignoring the fact that at that moment Harry had still been the hero of the day.

 

“Draco, my darling, I understand that you are upset, but so am I. I, however, am not upset about some incorrect arrest. Right now, I’m mostly grieved by the fact that you _ran away_. Why is that?”

 

“Father, don’t you understand? This is an urgent matter, you must speak with Jafar at once! We cannot let him arrest Harry, I will not accept it!”

 

“Draco! Answer me! Why?”

 

“You know why!” Draco was quickly losing the little patience he had left. “Because you want to marry me off to some stupid princess! How many times do I have to tell you that I won’t have that either? First of all, I’m _gay_! And second, I’m not a property that you can just send off. I’m a person with my own life, my own emotions and I should be allowed to make my own decisions!”

 

“Yes, I know all of that, my son. But you’ll turn nineteen soon, and I’m retiring, which means you’re about to take over as sultan, but to do that, you’ll need to get yourself a marriage!”

 

“I know! But I’ll only marry for love! And a princess will _never_ give me that! Can we please have this argument sometime later? You have to speak with Jafar about —”

 

“Speak with me about what?” came a dark, booming voice from the other side of the hallway. A man, about the same height as Draco’s father, stepped closer to them. He was clad in mostly black clothes, except for the sangria red decorations and his many rings and jewels placed on his hands and head. “Is anything the matter, Lucius?”

 

“Yes.” Draco’s father answers simply. “Draco has told me that you have ordered a man arrested without consulting me about it. That is not acceptable, Jafar.”

 

“Of course, my lord, but this man is a criminal, and he is merely about to be punished for his crimes.”

 

“But he’s a hero!” Draco cut in. “He saved my _life_ today! I demand that you release him at once!”

 

“I’m sorry, Draco,” Jafar said, though he didn’t sound sorry at all, “It’s already too late. Harry Potter, the street rat you’re talking about, was instantly sent away for his sentence. I’m afraid there’s no way he’ll ever come back.”

 

The hurt that cut through Draco’s heart at these news were completely unaccounted for and Draco quickly sped out of the room to hide in his quarters and let himself cry out the pain without anyone watching.

 

* * *

 

Harry was stuck in chains beneath the palace. Ironic, wasn’t it? He finally got what he always wanted, he had reached his dream, yet it had turned into a nightmare. Everyone knew only the worst criminals got into the palace dungeons and they never stayed there for long. It was too dangerous for the sultan to have murderers in his home. No, they were quickly taken care of, and Harry feared what was about to happen to him. Sure, he wasn’t the most honorable man, but he wasn’t evil. He was still just a kid, he didn’t deserve to _die_!

 

A distant chatter broke his train of thoughts and he peeked out between the steel bars that separated him from the rest of the world. Barely audible thumps grew closer and with them rose Harry’s hope. He’d recognized that sound anywhere, but now he was just hoping that he wasn’t imagining them. But no, down by the end of the corridor, he could see the silhouette of his best friend moving quickly towards him.

 

Abu started off on an angry but hushed rant of chatters the moment he was by the side of Harry, but Harry couldn’t be bothered to tell him to be quiet. He was just relieved that he wasn’t alone anymore. While smiling softly, he let Abu tell him off for ending up in jail. When the monkey gradually grew silent, Harry noticed that Abu’s words changed from anger to sadness.

 

“Aw, Abu, are you sad? But I’ll get out of this, I promise! Prince Draco promised me that he’d talk to the palace staff and that should get me out of here. He asked me if I trusted him, and I do. I really do. And you trust me, don’t you?”

 

Abu nodded, but his eyes still betrayed his sorrowful feelings so Harry lifted him off the ground and placed him in his lap.

 

“Don’t worry, little one,” he cooed as he petted him. “It’ll be alright. I promise.”

 

Harry continued to whisper reassuring words until Abu had fallen asleep, and even after that he continued in the hope of also making himself believe his words. The longer time that went by, though, it got harder to believe. It was strange how much easier it was to give up hope on surviving than it was to give up hope about some day actually visiting the palace for real.

 

Amidst his brooding, Harry noticed the faint sound of footsteps closing in. Hurriedly, he hid the sleeping Abu under his vest. Could he not save his own life, he was going to do anything in his power to save Abu’s.

 

The footsteps came to a stop and Harry hesitantly raised his head to see who had come to see him. It was a tall man wearing a black turban and black drapings, decorated with wine red adornments.

 

“Harry Potter, I’ve come to take you to your destiny,” he said, his voice incredibly deep. It sent shivers down Harry’s spine just to hear it, and it made him sick to try to understand the meaning of his words.

 

“Alright,” he answered anyways, refusing to show any other emotion than pride over who he was.

 

A rustle of heavy metals clashing together rang through the empty halls and then the gate was open. Harry followed the man silently, made no move to try to escape for he was certain that he wouldn’t make it anyways.

 

When they got out of the dungeon, Harry was surprised to see that it was dark outside, the air frilly. Why would he be executed in the darkness of the night? It didn’t make any sense. He didn’t ask any questions though. Not even when the man asked him to mount a horse or when they set course straight out into the empty desert.

 

They rode for a long time and Harry gave up on pondering what horrible fates the man could possibly have planned for him, and he amused himself with thoughts of the happiness he had experienced until now. He thought about the incredible times he had spent with Abu, all the fights he had picked with other street boys just for the fun of it, only to get a scorning from Abu afterwards. And he thought about the prince. Prince Draco Malfoy.

 

Harry had always known that Draco was fair,  that was essentially the only thing that everyone and anyone knew about him. Harry had also heard that he was fierce, that he threw tantrums whenever he didn’t get what he wanted. But after meeting the man, he had a hard time believing that rumour was true. The prince had shown that he could be demanding, for sure, but he had only shown that side of himself when other people needed it — he never used it for himself.

 

Draco Malfoy. The prince of Agrabah. Wasn’t it just Harry’s luck that he’d go and fall head first in love with the one boy he never could have? Maybe it was for the best that he was about to die anyways. At least then he wouldn’t have to live through the misery of unrequited love. Barely had the thought crossed his mind before he scorned himself. He couldn’t think like that! He had loads of things to live for. The greatest of them all was his best friend.

 

His train of thought was stopped when the tall man suddenly ordered him to stop and get off the horse. Harry did as he was told, and the man followed suit. He held out something for Harry to take and in the faint starlight, Harry could see that it glimmered in gold.

 

“What is this?” he asked, daring to test his luck by voicing this question.

 

“The key to the Cave of Wonders,” the man answered. “Inside this cave, you will find all the treasure you can ever think of, and I’m willing to give it all to you if you only bring one thing for me. An old oil lamp. If you do that, I’ll clear your criminal record as well as offer you the rest of the treasure within the cave. But I must warn you, there will be many traps in there, and if you do not bring me what I wish for, I will make sure to set them off.”

 

Harry stared at the man in disbelief. This was madness!

 

“Why don’t you go in there yourself? Wouldn’t that be safest to receive the right lamp for you?”

 

“This cave can only be entered by one person, and I am not that person. You are. You are, shall we call it a diamond in the rough.”

 

Harry still couldn’t believe any of what the man was saying. But if this was his way of getting free, to stay with Abu, then he’d do his best to complete his quest. He nodded at the man, who pressed a button on the golden device in his hands. Wings sprung free from within it, and then it flew a few metres away only to land in the dry sand.

 

The moment it hit the sand, the ground started to shake and all of a sudden there was a giant tiger’s head made of sand sitting in front of it.

 

“Who dares disturb my slumber?” it roared.

 

Harry took a few steps forward.

 

“I, Harry Potter, am disturbing you, for I wish to enter the Cave of Wonders,” he said sternly. Immediately, the tiger opened its mouth, allowing an opening to appear. After just a tint of hesitation, Harry determinedly made his way towards the tiger’s mouth. Just as he entered the cave, he felt something sting him in the neck. He threw a hand to see if there was an insect, but there was nothing there. He shook his head and thought to himself how the dungeon must’ve made him crazy.

 

He lost all sense of time as he walked along corridor after corridor, the pathway constantly surrounded by different kinds of treasures. But he still hadn’t seen the lamp. He felt Abu stirring beneath his vest, a telltale sign of the monkey being close to waking up. But that wasn’t the only sensation he got. Harry also had the feeling that someone was following him. When passing an alley of expensive-looking mirrors, he quickly snatched a silver hand mirror which he used to watch behind his back while he still kept walking through the cave in search of the lamp.

 

What Harry found through the reflection had him stopping in his tracks immediately, though. He turned around but the _object_ in question was nowhere to be seen.

 

“Come on,” Harry called out softly. “I ain’t gonna hurt you, I swear.” From behind a glorious full-length mirror, he noticed a small movement and he slowly crept closer. “It’s okay, I’m not dangerous. You can come on out.”

 

At last, his words seemed to have an impact for suddenly he was overthrown by a… flying mat! Harry let out a small laugh as he watched the carpet. It acted so incredibly happy to have met Harry, it made his heart melt a bit.

 

“Hi, there,” he smiled to it. “I’m Harry, and this is my best friend, Abu.”

 

Cautiously, he brought out the monkey who still was on the verge between the states of sleeping and being awake.

 

“We are here because we’re searching for something. An old oil lamp. Do you know where we can find it?” The carpet nodded frantically, happily waving for Harry to follow him before speeding off further into the cave. Then it was gone. Harry sighed to himself, before shouting into the tunnel for the mat to come back.

 

“I’m sorry, I’m not as fast as you are,” he explained apologetically when it did come back.

 

Without warning, the flying carpet spun around him and made Harry fall upon it and then they were flying off together. All the turmoil had Abu fully woken up and Harry suddenly had to calm a very confused and scared monkey as well as try to keep his balance upon a flying carpet. Once he’d mastered the flying, it got a lot easier to explain to Abu what was happening and soon after they were both profoundly enjoying the ride.

 

Though the ride was quite long, it still wasn’t quite long enough. Harry found that the rush of flying was a better relief than anything he’d ever done before — even better than jumping down from rooftops and between houses — and the carpet turned out to be excellent company to keep Harry and Abu’s excitement on top. Harry would’ve loved to just stay in the cave, flying with Abu and Carpet forever. But he remembered the promise he had made the man above the cave, and he was determined to fulfill that quest.

 

When they found the place where the lamp was, Harry was instantly reminded of the man’s warning for traps. The lamp was placed on the top of a mountain which was surrounded by a lake of lava. He asked Carpet to stay back and keep an eye on Abu while he himself made his way towards the lamp. Carefully, he approached the lamp and lifted it from its pedestal with a tender, yet firm hold on it. Nothing happened, and Harry let out a breath of relief. Now it was only to get back to stable ground and then fly all the way back to the cave’s opening and then he’d be free!

 

His plan worked until he put foot on the other side of the lava lake. Once again, he felt a sting in his neck and suddenly something was flying in a circle around him before disappearing somewhere in the very big chamber. A moment later, the ground was shaking. The lava was rising, fire balls spurting wildly out into the air. Harry quickly ran forwards to Carpet who still was waiting with Abu on it. As soon as Harry had jumped onto the carpet, they were all speeding back through the cave, heading to the exit. Behind them, they could constantly hear the fire crackle behind them, quickly spreading after them.

 

At last, the stairs leading up to the entrance became visible, but something about them seemed wrong. When they got closer, Harry realised why. They were falling apart. Giant holes in the sand showed them to be extremely frail and anyone who’d try to take a step on the was obviously mental.

 

“Come on, Carpet!” he cheered on. “I know it’s steep, but you can do it, you can get us up there!”

 

Harry held on to Abu as tightly as he held onto the carpet, and felt the headwind grow stronger as they sped up. Up ahead, he could see that the Tiger’s mouth was about to close, and he leaned forwards in an attempt to help the magic carpet fly faster. There was only a few dozen metres left. They could do it!

 

* * *

 

They couldn’t do it. When they approached the opening, the man who had escorted Harry showed up and blocked their path. He demanded Harry to hand him the lamp, or he wouldn’t let them out. Naturally, Harry had given it to him without hesitation, but it helped him in no way. Instead of getting out of the way, the man just took the lamp and stood tall, not moving away at all. He pulled forwards a golden staff with the shape of a snake, its eyes made out of two shining scarlet gems. As he thrust it forwards, a wave of power came through and it pushed Harry, Abu and the carpet back into the cave. The unexpected action caught Harry off-guard and he found himself falling off the mat.

 

He could feel the heat from the fire get warmer and warmer, and he closed his eyes, not daring to see what was going to be his end. This was cruel. The man had given him back his hope, given him the belief that not only was he not going to die, but he was also going to get enough money to never have to worry about food again. The man had given him hope to survive and live, only to throw Harry to his death anyway.

 

Suddenly, Harry wasn’t falling anymore. As he slowly opened his eyes he saw that he was sat on the magic carpet once again. But Abu was nowhere to be seen!

 

“Carpet, where’s Abu? Did he fall too? We have to save him!” The mat didn’t seem to listen to him, and Harry grew more and more frantic. “Come on! Let’s go find him! Come on, come on, come on!”

 

Still, it refused to listen and in his desperate state with too many strong feelings mixed up within him, Harry found himself crying. He was scared. He was so scared. Scared of the fire, scared of dying — no, he wasn’t scared of dying, he was scared of not having lived a full life before dying — and he was scared of losing his best friend.

 

He was still crying when he felt the carpet stop. He was still crying, hiding his face in his hands, when the carpet rolled him down onto a protrusion of the caves stone walls. He was still crying when he heard a very worried chatter and felt a hesitant pat on his shoulder by a very small hand. And then he was crying of fear and relief instead of fear and grief, all the while hugging his best friend closely to his chest. Then he was hugging the magic carpet, and they were all hugging each other, but he didn’t stop crying. Not until the fire burned out beneath them.

 

“Well, this is kind of stupid, don’t you think? We survived, but we’re still gonna die because we can’t get out of here. And for what? For a favour for some old man? He got what he wanted, we get to die and we don’t even know what that dumb lamp was for anyway. He got everything and we got nothing.”

 

At that, Abu shook his head and moved towards a small hole in the wall. From there, he pulled out… the lamp!

 

“Oh, that’s my amazing thieving best friend!” Harry cried out and once again hugged Abu to his chest, before taking the lamp and examining it. “I wonder what the man wanted this for? It’s clearly not very valuable. Look at how dirty it is! But what, I think there’s anything written there. I can’t quite make it out.”

 

Harry started to rub his hand at the words in an attempt to clean it and make them clearer, but the lamp started to vibrate in his hand. Terrified, Harry threw the lamp away from him and backed up towards the wall behind him. With wide eyes, he watched as the lamp flew into the air, shaking more and more vehemently the more time that went by. Then it exploded.

 

Out of the cloud of dust that followed the explosion, a man emerged. The man looked like any other man, except for the fact that his skin was tinted _blue_. As blue as the sky Harry had seen beyond the palace whenever he looked out of his window at home.

 

“Ten thousand years,” the man stated, his voice on the verge of being shrill. “It surely gives you a crick in your neck.” He continued before he seemed to notice the small crowd that was watching him. “Hello there, what’s your name?” he asked Harry.

 

“Uh, Harry. Harry Potter.”

 

“Well then, Harry, nice to meet you. Oh, hi Rug Man,” the man turned to Carpet. “Haven’t seen you in quite a while, how are you doing?”

 

The carpet instantly threw itself into an animated version of telling the man several stories through its limited access to sign language. The man followed all of it with copious interest. Not until Carpet was done did he let his concentration go back to Harry. He looked at Harry, inspecting him from head to toe.

 

“You…” he began, letting his left hand brush over his beard. “You are a lot smaller than my last master. Or perhaps my memory has gotten worse.”

 

“What?” Harry asked. “Am I your master?”

 

“Yes. You are the one that got me out of the lamp, and so I am required to grant you three wishes, just like any other genie.”

 

“What?” Harry repeated. “A genie? You’re kidding.”

 

“Am not, young man. I grant you anything but the following: I can not kill anyone, I can not make someone fall in love with you, I can not bring someone back from the dead and I can not grant you more than three wishes.”

 

Harry stared at him in disbelief. “That can’t be!”

 

“Mister Harry Potter, sir. What will your pleasure be? Please believe me when I tell you, you ain’t never had a friend like me.”

 

The man proceeded to tell Harry about different things that he could grant Harry, if he only wished for it.

 

“I still don’t believe you,” Harry said. “Nothing of what you just said is possible. It’s more impossible than a magic carpet!”

 

“What are you saying, lad?”

 

“I’m saying that you have to prove yourself! If you happen to have these powers, then why don’t you go on and get all of us out of here? I bet you can’t do it!”

 

“Bullshit!” the man said. He snapped his fingers and a moment later they were all standing above the ground, in the desert with no cave walls surrounding them. “There you go! Now, you have two wishes left!”

 

“No, I still have three wishes,” Harry said. “I never actually wished for you to get us free, you did that on your own.”

 

The genie stared at Harry dumbfounded.

 

“Alright, I’ll give you that one,” he said while shaking his head. “But you won’t be that lucky next time. Now, what do you wish for?”

 

“Uh, I don’t know.” Harry said as he started to walk to the silhouette of Agrabah that he could see towering up by the horizon. “It’s quite a lot, to ask someone to wish for three things that could be anything, wish for any dream to come true. What would you wish for, Genie?”

 

The man, who was walking next to Harry, once again looked bewildered at Harry. “Me? What would I wish for? In all my years as a genie, _no one_ has ever asked me that. But it’s an easy question. There’s only one dream I’d ever want to come true. I want to be free.”

 

“Free?”

 

“Yeah, you see those wristbands? They’re actually magical handcuffs that bonds me to the lamp, and by that, to whoever temporarily frees me from it. But even then, I’m still bound to the lamp. The only way I can be truly free is if my master uses one of their wishes to make me free.”

 

“I’ll do it!” Harry exclaimed without hesitation. “I have three wishes, right? So I can just use two of them for anything I want and then I’ll use my last one to set you free.”

 

“You’d really do that?”

 

“Of course! After all, I do know what it’s like to want to be free.”

 

While walking back to Agrabah, Harry continued to communicate with Genie, getting to know him a bit better as well as trying to get some help with figuring out what two wishes would suit him the best. However, it wasn’t long until Harry lost track of the subject and he was talking about the prince. He had already told Genie about how he had ended up in the cave, and he had told him about the incredible encounter he had had with Draco.

 

“I know I’ve only met him once, but it’s something special about him. I think… I think I’m falling in love with him.”

 

“Wrong,” Genie said, and when Harry raised his eyebrows at him he explained. “You are not falling in love with him because you _have already fallen_ in love with him.”

 

Harry didn’t need much time to realise that the man was right. “Yeah… you’re right. I have. But what am I going to do about it?! Can I use one of the wishes to help me?”

 

“Uh-uh, I can’t make him fall in love with you, it’s not in my repertoar.”

 

“I know, I know but… I KNOW! You can make me into a prince!”

 

“Uh, I don’t think I’m powerful enough to do that, because that’d mean I need to change the past, but I can however make you _look_ like a prince, and then you can figure out the rest on your own.”

 

“Yes! I’ll do it. That’s my first wish. Genie, I wish to be a prince!”

 

There was a bang and suddenly Harry’s rags for clothes were exchanged for beautiful silk robes and his head was covered by a grand turban. Around him, the genie transformed grain of sand after grain of sand into whatever he thought could help Harry look more princely. Soon they were surrounded by an entire caravan. Harry quickly jumped up on the back of a grand elephant and then they were on their way into Agrabah.

 

Trumpets played fanfares and girls danced in front of Harry as he watched the people of his town look out of their windows.

 

“Make way

For Prince Harry!”

 

The genie shouted out to the public, demanding people to pay their respects to the prince.

 

“Say: "Hey!

It's Prince Harry!"

 

It was a grand display, for sure. It felt strange to have so many people staring at him without actually knowing who he was. It felt strange to look down on people. Harry wasn’t really sure if he liked it, but he reminded himself that this was for Prince Draco.

 

“Make way!

Here he comes!

Ring bells!

Bang the drums!

Ah! You're gonna love this guy!

Prince Harry — fabulous he — Harry Ababwa”

 

Harry smiled down at the people that came to the street. He found himself holding a bag full of money which Genie had conjured him. Without a second thought, he pushed his hand into the bag and retrieved a handful of coins which he then threw at the crowd. He did, after all, know very well that there were a lot of people in Agrabah that could do with some extra stocks. He saw the man he had cut the hand off, and made sure to throw a couple of coins his way. Hopefully, it would be enough for him to pay for proper medical help so that his injury would heal correctly.

 

Harry could see Genie whooshing through the crowds, and he could hear him making commentary to woo the people into noticing different parts of his parade as extraordinaire. And then he heard him compliment Harry himself, causing him to blush tremendously. He wasn’t exactly used to hear nice words in the context of describing _him_.

 

And so it continued. Praise after praise, compliment after compliment. All Harry could do was smile, continue giving money and think of what lay ahead: the Palace!

 

Just as they came approached the Palace Railing, Genie shouted out his last command.

 

“Make way!

For Prince Harry!”

 

And then they were inside the gates.

 

* * *

 

Harry had screwed everything up profoundly.

He had entered the Palace trying to act as he thought royals acted. He had asked to see Prince Draco, had explained his mission was to ask him to marry him. It was as he had been talking about this that Draco had arrived, and he heard only the part about the marriage. He didn’t hear the part where Harry explained that he had met Draco once before, and that he hadn’t been able to think about anything but that meeting since. He had explained that with every second that went by had him falling deeper in love with him. But Draco only heard the question about marriage, and then he stormed out of the room.

 

As Harry had ran to follow Draco, he stumbled into a man. A man which he recognised immediately. It was the man who had brought him to the Cave of Wonders and then thrown him to his death!

 

“You!” Harry exclaimed before he could stop himself.

 

“I, what?” the man drawled, clearly not seeing who Harry truly was. Quickly, Harry came up with a reply to save the moment.

 

“Do you know where he went? Draco?”

 

“No… but… do I know you?”

 

“I hardly think so. I’m Prince Harry Alibabwa, I come from far away. Further away than you have ever been. I highly doubt that you have had the luck to meet such grandeur as me.”

 

The man snorted in response to show his disdain in Harry’s displayed self-confidence, but something in his eye told that he didn’t quite believe what Harry was saying.

 

“Now, if you will not be of any help, I will have to go.” Harry said hurriedly, then rushed off to where he thought Draco had disappeared to, not daring to look back at the man.

 

Now, Harry was sitting beside a fountain in the back garden, petting Abu while contemplating how to solve this mess. Both Carpet and Genie were expressing how they thought Harry should just go to Draco and be himself, and Harry could understand why. The only problem was that if he did that, he wouldn’t be able to get close to Draco — he would be thrown out of the palace before even getting a glimpse of the prince.

 

* * *

 

Draco hadn’t even seen the prince who had called for his presence. He hadn’t needed to. It was just another prince who wished to marry him, to follow the constitution. It had angered him to no end that they just didn’t seem to understand that there were more important things than the laws of marriage for royalty. It had angered him so much he couldn’t even appreciate that at least it had been a prince this time and not a princess.

 

But now that he thought back on it, he realised that he had recognized the voice of the prince. It had been Harry. But that didn’t make any sense, because Harry was no prince and Jafar had said that Harry was… dead. Yet, Draco was sure that the voice had been the one belonging to the young man that had saved him two days before.

 

Hesitantly, he went to the glassdoors of his room and sneaked a look out over the garden. Down by Draco’s favourite fountain he could see the prince, sitting with a defeated posture while talking to the man by his side and… Abu! It _was_ Harry! But how could that be? Jafar had said —

 

Jafar. Draco saw him now, standing lurking behind an olive tree. Draco had never liked the advisor, had always thought him too mysterious and dark. It wouldn’t surprise him if Jafar turned out to be even more evil than Draco had imagined and that all this was his scheming. And that meant that Harry needed his help.

 

Draco quickly went back into his room and called on his pet tiger, Rajah. Together, the two of them made their way to where Harry was. As Draco walked towards Harry, he sent Rajah off to find Jafar and make sure that the older man couldn’t spy on them.

 

“Hi, Harry.” Draco said when he approached him. As soon as they notice him, the man that was accompanying Harry left the scene. “I’m sorry about before… I didn’t realise… I didn’t realise that it was you.”

 

Harry looked at him with wonder shining through his eyes.

 

“You… came to me? You came willingly to see me? Even though… it’s _me_?” he asked. “And I’m sorry too. I know what you heard and it was wrong of me to say that. But… I thought that was how royalty spoke…”

 

“I know. And I understand. But how did you? I mean, how are you a prince now?”

 

“I’m not. I just look like one. Because… I wanted to see you. But I couldn’t do that as me.”

 

It grew silent for a short while before Harry piped up again.

 

“Have you ever imagined what it’d be like to take off and never look back?”

 

Draco smiled. “Only every hour of every day.”

 

“What’s stopping us? I mean, really. What _is_ stopping us? What if we went away, a million miles away?”

 

“I — that sounds amazing, Harry, but how would we be able to do that?”

 

Harry whistled a short tune and all of a sudden they were standing next to a hovering carpet. He smiled at Draco, grabbed his hand firmly.

 

“Do you trust me?”

 

“Yes,” Draco hummed, remembering how he himself had asked Harry those words two days ago.

 

“Then let me show you how we do it. We fly!”

 

Then they were off.

 

They flew over Agrabah, away from all their responsibilities. They flew over the desert and oases, saw humans and animals. They flew and flew as time went by. They flew until the sun started to set and it painted the world in orange, purple and indigo. They flew until the sky was black and white, stars blinking down on them. They flew until the sun once again was peeking over the horizon.

 

“It’s like a whole new world!” Draco exclaimed, and Harry could only agree. Yet, Harry wasn’t only looking at the scenery around them; he was watching the man beside him.

 

They were sitting very close to each other and the presence of Draco made Harry’s skin burn. He was itching to touch him, to be close to him, to be with him forever. It was indeed a whole new world. A new world where Harry’s dreams actually became true. For the first time in forever, he truly felt free. There were no limits to stop him from doing whatever he wanted. But for the first time, he didn’t feel the urge to continue to get more. He was content with exactly where he was, flying next to Draco.

 

Slightly hesitant, Harry moved his hand to touch Draco’s. The relief he felt when Draco immediately took it in his hand was overwhelming and Harry let out a heavy sigh before leaning sideways until he rested against Draco’s side and he could feel the prince lay his head upon Harry’s shoulder.

 

“How do you feel?” he asked Draco in a low tone that trembled through his entire body.

 

“Free,” the other man responded instantly.

 

“Me too,” Harry smiled, “Nothing to make me feel trapped anymore.”

 

“Yes… but… what about the other dream you have?” Draco asked, “the one that mostly was a memory?”

 

At first Harry didn’t understand what the prince was referring to, but when he turned his head slightly and looked into those silver eyes of Draco’s, he realised it at once.

 

“Oh, that,” he said. “I believe… that I’ve found that, as well. I found it in you.”

 

His voice grew more silent with every second as his aching heart made it hard to get the words out. Instead, he tried to communicate what he meant by action. He raised his hand to let it trail the shape of Draco’s jawline, his touch as frail as a butterfly’s colourful wings. And Draco leaned into the touch. He was finally free to do whatever he wanted, nothing to stop him from seeing the world. Yet, there was nothing he wanted to see unless Harry was by his side. So, he chose to just enjoy the moment, enjoy the presence of Harry letting his love wash over Draco’s soul.

 

* * *

 

“Harry?” Draco whispered a while later. They had been quiet for quite a long time, just enjoying the warmth of the other person. “This is really lovely, but… you know we have to go back right?”

 

Harry sighed and nodded. He had known that.

 

“It’s not that I don’t want to stay here with you. But, my father… I have to go back to him. I don’t really hate him. Or Agrabah, I just hate being locked inside the palace. To feel so trapped. Though I have a feeling that wouldn’t be as horrible if you were there with me.”

 

This time, Harry drew in a sharp breath. He had _not_ known that. He had expected Draco to just walk back to his life and let Harry return to his. With wide eyes he looked at Draco, who peered back at him with a slight blush, before placing a sweet peck on Harry’s cheek.

 

By the time they returned, the entire palace had woken up. Servants were running about, taking care of bushes in the gardens or pushing trails of food through the corridors. Draco and Harry just ignored it all as they sneaked through the palace in to Draco’s room.

 

“Whoa!” Harry whisper-shouted. “This is your room? It’s more than twice as big as my home!”

 

“I know…” Draco murmured. “But… if you’d like, you could come and live here? Maybe… become my suitor?”

 

“Are you kidding me? I would _love_ that!”

 

“Then I shall go and tell that to my father. I will also tell him that you will be joining us for dinner this evening.”

 

“Thanks, my Prince.”

 

“Please, call me Draco.”

 

Harry blushed and nodded, before letting go of Draco’s hand so that the prince could run his errands. When he was out of sight, Harry decided that it was time to go inform his friends what had happened. He went out to the back garden where he found Abu being cared for by several servants. The little monkey seemed to be enjoying his situation immensely, but as soon as he saw Harry, he jumped to greet him.

 

“Oh, Prince Harry, forgive us if we have trespassed, but he was very cute,” the youngest servant said, bowing when she saw who Abu had went to.

 

“It’s alright, I’m sure Abu only enjoyed it. It’s no problem at all. Thank you.”

 

“Thank you,” the servant said and then they all dispersed immediately.

 

“I’ll never get used to that.” Harry muttered to himself. In fact, it really scared him to even think about ever being able to marry Draco if it meant he would become a sultan. He shook the thought out of his mind in order to be able to focus on his present situation. He asked Abu if he knew where Genie was, but when the monkey shook his head in response, the two of them proceeded to walk around the palace grounds searching for him. That’s when everything suddenly turned black.

 

* * *

 

When Harry woke up again, he looked straight into the worried eyes of Genie.

 

“What happened?” Harry asked.

 

“I actually don’t know.” Genie answered. “First thing I was minding my own business in the lamp and the next I’m summoned by you, but you were unconscious and drowning in the sea and I’m sorry but I had to use one of your wishes to save you.”

 

“It’s okay, thank you, Genie.” Harry said. “But we have to get back to the palace. I must speak with Draco, because I’m fairly sure of who did this!”

 

Shortly after, they’re both standing firmly on the floor of the room that the Sultan had provided for Harry. Harry went to find Draco right away and Genie went to comfort Abu and Carpet by telling the news of Harry being found.

 

Harry found Draco in the grand lobby, where he was playing around with Rajah. Without knowing why, Harry was taken over by a strong urge to hug the prince, so he crossed the floor in long strides and promptly embraced the other man. When Draco asked what it was for, Harry just shook his head and kept his hold on him. What would he have answered anyway? He didn’t really _know_ what it was for. It was just something he had to do. By just standing there, so close to Draco, Harry felt all tension leave his body. He was with Draco and everything was going to be fine. Draco had promised that, and Harry trusted him.

 

“You ready for dinner with my father?” Draco asked when they parted, at last.

 

“Not really,” Harry answered earnestly. “It’s not like I have acted and eaten through a proper meal before.”

 

“I’m sure you’ll be fine. Just do what I do and no one will know. Now let’s go and meet him.“

 

Hand in hand, they went through the palace, whispering happily to each other. All thoughts about what had happened earlier had escaped Harry’s mind — it was too full of Draco. Until they arrived to the dining hall, that was. For inside the grand room stood the man that Harry believed had tried to, once again, have him killed.

 

“Jafar,” hissed Draco. “What are you doing here, Jafar. This is supposed to be a family dinner!”

 

“Yes, but I was asked to be here since your father has something important to tell you, Draco.”

 

Jafar’s smile was cruel and in his eyes glimmered a fiery hatred. Despite the fear that this put in Harry’s heart, he took a small step forward so that Draco stood slightly behind him, protected.

 

“Draco,” said a voice coming from the Sultan, though it sounded strange. It wasn’t Lucius voice. It was too animated. As if someone else was speaking through him. “Due to your inability to find a suitor—”

 

“But father,” Draco said, but Lucius didn’t seem to notice his son’s interruption as he simply continued to speak in his new, odd voice.

 

“I have decided upon a suitor for you.”

 

“What?!”

 

“Draco, you are to marry Jafar.”

 

“No! But father, I have found someone. I have chosen Prince Harry!” Draco desperately tried to beg to his father, but his eyes were blank, unresponsive. Draco sprang forward, placing two trembling hands upon his father’s chest, fiercely looking into Lucius’ eyes.

 

While Draco pleaded with his father, Harry noticed how Jafar’s face showed an even more cruel smile than before and that he was pointing his snake looking staff at the Sultan. The red gems in the snake’s eyes were shining just like they had when Jafar trapped Harry in the Cave of Wonders. Before Jafar had the chance to notice Harry looking at him, Harry flung himself forwards and jerked the staff out of the man’s hand. Without hesitation, he hit the staff at ground, crushing the gems. The spell was broken. Lucius eyes lost its glaze and he looked around the room, clearly showing the confusion he felt.

 

“Not to worry, your majesty,” Harry said. “Jafar controlled your mind using this staff!” Harry thrust the cane into the air. “He also tried to have me killed, possibly more than once.”

 

Lucius immediately called for his guards to arrest Jafar, but merely had the guards got their hands on Jafar’s shoulders before the man threw a vial at the floor. The room was suddenly filled with smoke and when it dispersed, Jafar was nowhere to be seen.

 

As Lucius set of with an angry rant about trusting Jafar with the role of Royal Vizier and that the cunt had paid him back by controlling him, _cheating_ him, Harry and Draco only focus on each other. Draco’s eyes searched Harry’s for answers just like Harry’s tried to tell them. Lucius continued to yell about Jafar being so obnoxious as to make him marry Draco off to him! Unbelievable! None of his words reached the ears of the other two men in the room though, for they solely saw and heard each other. At last, Lucius caught on to the sensation in the air and he turned around to see Draco leaning in to place a gentle kiss on Harry’s lips.

 

Just like that, Lucius changed from shouting angrily to cheering happily for his son had finally found what he had always been searching for. Love.

 

“Yes, father I have,” Draco said, “but —”

 

Harry stopped him before he could say anything else by whispering ‘not now’ into his ear. Draco nodded a short almost nonexistent nod.

 

“But isn’t it time for dinner now?” he said.

 

“Yes, of course.”

 

The rest of the evening, Lucius did everything he could to make Harry feel included and to get to know his soon-to-be son-in-law.

 

Much later, with stomachs full of food, they left the room at last. Draco followed Harry to his room, while Lucius went off on his own.

 

“We do have to tell him, you know,” Draco said. “About you not being a real prince.”

 

“I know, Draco, I know. But I thought he needed some cheering up. After all, he had just realised that his most trusted man had betrayed him. And I think _I_ should be the one to tell him. It’s my duty to provide him the truth. I will do it tomorrow, I promise.”

 

“Alright.”

 

They had arrived at Harry’s door. Both men lingered at the door, not wanting to part ways.

 

“You could stay,” Harry murmured, even though he knew that his request would be rejected.

 

“I wish I could, Harry. But I have to go back to my room. It’s custom.”

 

“I know. But I wish.”

 

“Don’t say that! You might accidentally use up your last wish! And you promised you would use it to set Genie free.”

 

“We should probably do that now!”

 

“Yes, of course, the lamp is in here, in my room.”

 

They entered the room. To find it in complete disarray. Clothes and jewellery were strewn all over the floor and nothing was laying in its original place. Quickly, Harry ran through the room, searching for the lamp. But just as he feared, it was gone. And he had quite a good guess of who had taken it.

 

“Jafar has taken it,” he said, not bothering to hide the bitterness in his tone. Then another thought crossed his mind.

 

“We must stop him!” Draco cried out.

 

“Yes but first… where is Abu?”

 

Panic rising in his chest, Harry once again ran around the room, looking under every cloth he could see. His best friend was nowhere to be seen. Harry felt his heart ache so much he found it hard to breathe, and he didn’t know what to do. His pulse began to race and soon his entire body was shaking. Then Draco was there by his side, holding him firmly. Consistently, he worked to calm Harry down, petting his hair softly and mumbling reassuring words into Harry’s ear. He didn’t know if it was the words or the vibration they sent through Harry’s skin that did the wonder, but nonetheless, it worked. Fairly soon were they both sitting on the floor, breathing normally again, no more trembles rushing through their hands.

 

When they finally were able to stand again, they went back out of the room. They had only gotten a few metres when they heard a loud crash coming from the main entrance hall. Hurriedly, they made their way there. In the hallway stood Jafar, proudly holding the lamp in his hands. In front of him stood Lucius, looking absolutely furious.

 

“How dare you set your foot in here, you blasphemer!”

 

Jafar simply laughed in response.

 

“I demand that you leave Agrabah now, and never return! You will never be welcomed back here,” Lucius continued.

 

“Father,” Draco called out, “please don’t. Come here. He’ll hurt you.”

 

“Hurt him?” Jafar snorted. “Of course I won’t hurt him. I’m simply going to _embarrass_ him.” He put his hand on the lamp and rubbed. Just like when Harry did the same, there was a small explosion which was followed by Genie appearing in front of them.

 

“Harry, I was in the middle of a nap, did you real—” Genie stopped mid-sentence when he realised it wasn’t Harry who was holding the lamp. “What is going on here?” he asked warily.

 

“ _I_ am your master now, Genie,” Jafar growled. “And that means that you owe me three wishes.”

White-faced, Genie nodded, and bowed his head towards his new master.

 

“Yes, it does mean that. But I must inform you what I can’t grant everything.”

 

“Be quiet! I am about to have my first wish granted! I wish to become the Sultan of Agrabah!”

Sighing heavily, Genie once again bowed his head and snapped his fingers. In an instant, Jafar was wearing the Sultan’s turban, and Lucius white-blond hair was exposed to everyone in the room.

 

“As the sultan, I demand that Lucius and Draco Malfoy become my slaves. Not servants — slaves! And you!” Jafar pointed at Harry. “You are about to die. Again!”

 

Before Harry could react, he was launched into the air by two heavily built guards who then started to drag him out of the building. Harry could hear Draco call after him, but he didn’t get the chance to answer before the doors to the room slammed shut between them and then he was outside the palace. He was thrown into a large cage placed on a wagon behind a horse. Right as he was put in the cage, the horse started forwards and all Harry could do was watch as the palace grew smaller and smaller the further away they went.

 

While travelling along the sand dunes, Harry let himself close his eyes and rest. He let himself daydream. He dreamt about his time as one of the best thieves in Agrabah, and he dreamt about his childhood with Abu and the old man, who had given him his first golden coin. No, he wasn’t dreaming, Harry suddenly realised. He was _remembering_.

 

_After Harry found himself helping others by buying food for them with the little money he had gotten from the old man and his monkey, he didn’t really have much left. In fact, he had nothing left at all. He was once again wandering the streets without anywhere to go, nothing to eat. But he had a purpose. He wanted to find the kind old man and his monkey. He wanted to properly thank them, because they had helped him to help others. To spread love to those around him, just like his mother had done._

 

_He wandered and wandered, constantly looking around him and hoping to see the swiftly moving shadow of the monkey. He wandered for days on end, but he saw nothing. He didn’t find the monkey, he didn’t find the old man and he didn’t find anyone that could help him. At last, Harry had collapsed on the porch of a house, his body too tired to move anymore. He leaned against the door behind him and for a brief second he let himself close his eyes. Just then, the door opened and he fell backwards._

 

_Quickly, Harry sprang to his feet and began to apologize._

 

_“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb. I was just resting, I’m sorry. I’ll be in my way.”_

 

_“Not to worry, my child,” said a voice that Harry immediately recognised. It was the old man. “Abu has told me that you’ve been searching for us. Is that true, son?”_

 

_Harry nodded. “Yes, sir, I was. I was searching for you because I wanted to see you. And I wanted to thank you. It was very kind of you to give me that money. I promise that I used it well.”_

 

_“I know you did. Abu told me that as well. He told me that you didn’t even use a tenth of what it was worth to buy yourself some food. You used almost all of it to buy food for everyone else around you. That was very kind of you.”_

 

_“Abu said that?”_

 

_“Well, no. He came home complaining about you using it on other stupid humans instead of using it on your stupid self. But yes, he did tell me what you did.”_

 

_“But why didn’t you come to me then? I just wanted to say thank you.”_

 

_“I wanted to see if you were worthy, if you had what it takes.”_

 

_“For what?”_

 

_“To become a diamond.”_

 

_“How do I do that?”_

 

_“By holding on to your dreams even when there’s nothing left.”_

 

Harry opened his eyes again. Abu. He missed him. Ever since Harry had met the old man that second time, they had been together. Abu and the old man had taught Harry to care a bit more about himself without stopping him from caring more about others. And when the old man one day passed away, Harry didn’t find himself alone like it had been when his parents died. This time he had a brother, a friend. His best friend. Abu.

 

He thought about the memory that had just passed through his mind. _‘You become a diamond by holding on to your dreams even when there’s nothing left,_ ’ the old man had said. Harry had always had that line in the back of his mind. It kept him alive on the days that were a bit worse than others, the days that were filled with more hunger than most. He had always held on to his dreams and hope. But none of those days had been as bad as today. Because Abu was gone. None of Harry’s previous experiences with pain had prepared him for this. For the first time, Harry was ready to give up on his dream. It was obviously not meant to be anyways.

 

The horse stopped, and the coachman jumped onto the ground. Together with another man, he unstrapped the cage from the wagon and they carried it down on the ground. Then they jumped onto the carriage again and went off, leaving Harry in the cage.

 

He was in the middle of the desert, just like the last time he had been conscious when Jafar sent him to his verdict. But this time he had no lamp to magically grant him a way to get out of his cage. This time he didn’t have a flying carpet to help him. This time he didn’t have his best friend’s company. It really _was_ hopeless! And ironic. Almost all his life had been about finding enough food to stay alive, to not starve. He had gotten good enough at stealing to not really have to worry about it too much. And now he was about to die from starvation anyways. Or dehydration. Ironic.

 

Time went on, the sunrays burning Harry’s skin until he felt as grilled as the scorpions they sold in the market. But the closer the day got to night, the less Harry felt the burn. He was consumed by a much greater pain. The past couple of hours, he had entertained himself with thoughts about what Jafar might be doing to Draco and his father. He imagined one horrible fate after the other that Draco could possible be living through, and it made Harry hurt more than anything.

 

But maybe that was what he deserved. After all, had he not gone to the palace as Prince Harry Ababwa, then Jafar would never have gotten his hands on the lamp and nothing of this would have happened. If he had just been like everyone else: Wise. Not so naive as to believe that dreams could be true. Astute enough to realise that his predestined path was to forever be a street rat until the day he left this world.

 

Yet, there was something in his heart that told him to not lose hope. It wasn’t the sound of the old man that had helped him as a kid, and it wasn’t the voice of his own head. The voice had a tone that reminded him of Draco, but it wasn’t quite right. But he trusted it. He trusted the voice, for it was all he could do. All he could do was hope, dream. Even when there was nothing left.

 

A rustling sound caught his attention. He turned to his head and… he must be hallucinating. Because what he saw was too good to be true: It was Abu, flying Carpet with a metal ring in his hand. And from that ring hung a key. The key to Harry’s cage. It just couldn’t be true! Harry pinched his arm and… no, he wasn’t dreaming. It was true.

 

Mere seconds later was he free and mounted on Carpet with Abu in his arms. Harry listened intently to Abu’s tale about how Jafar had stormed into Harry’s room, trashed the entire place in his hunt for the golden lamp. Terrified, Abu and Carpet had fled the scene unseen, and when they finally found the courage to come back, Harry had been gone, Jafar ruled with magic and Draco was imprisoned.

 

“Draco!” Harry cried out. “Hurry, Carpet, we must save them!”

 

The three friends flew as fast as they possibly could over the dunes, across the desert. The wind whacked Harry in the face but he didn’t care. All that mattered was coming back to Agrabah and Draco as soon as possible. Even though they were far away from the municipality, Harry could see the dark, ominous clouds that floated above the palace. Must they not be too late.

 

When they got closer, Harry asked Carpet to slow down. They’d need to sneak inside without being seen, or they’d have no chance in saving Draco and his father. Or the rest of Agrabah’s population for that matter. They had to be extremely careful.

 

At first, it worked, they got inside the palace without encountering any of the patrolling guards, and they quickly ran through the rooms to find the evil sorcerer. He was in the main hall, proudly residing on the throne while watching Lucius clean the room, and Draco was sitting on the floor beside him, holding out a tray of fruits for Jafar to eat. Draco was bound to chains that were attached to Jafar’s wrist, causing Jafar to control every move Draco made. Maybe it was jealousy, maybe it was the wish for vengeance of maybe it was just a sense of justice that made anger boil inside Harry at the sight.

 

Then something else caught his eye. By the end of a table full of food stood Genie. He too was chained, and he couldn’t move more than a few decimeters away from the table leg he was attached to. Carefully, Harry sneaked between pillars until he was standing within whispering distance to Genie.

 

“Hey, Genie!” he whispered.

 

Startled, the man turned to look at him. “What are you doing here?”

 

“Trying to save you!”

 

“You can’t! There’s nothing you can do. He made me make him into the most powerful sorcerer in the world! I couldn’t do anything about it and neither can you! You should try to escape with your life while you still can.

 

“Not without you,” Harry said bitterly, “or Draco, or Lucius. I _am_ going to try to save you.”

 

“Genie!” Jafar suddenly called out, causing both Genie and Harry to stiffen, afraid that he might had caught them. “Help me out here. I want to know how I can get even more power. How I could possibly become the most powerful man in the world, ever! More powerful than anyone in the past, present and _future_! How can I do that?”

 

“I… don’t know, sir,” Genie stammered.

 

But Jafar’s question had made Harry realise something: he wanted power. There was nothing that mattered to this man except power. Now Harry just needed to come up with how to use that against him.

 

“Perhaps it is love?” Jafar said. “Isn’t that what all the fairytales are about? How love is the most powerful weapon? Draco! Come here!” he demanded and yanked the chains so that the prince stumbled towards him. “What do you say? I could release you from your slaving duty if you only agree to love me. Marry me.”

 

“ _Never_ !” The disgust in Draco’s voice was almost wearable. “I would _never_ marry you, ever!”

 

Jafar snarled and shoved Draco onto the ground. “Genie! I wish for you to make Draco fall in love with me!”

 

Genie visibly squirmed where he was standing.

 

“Actually, that’s one of the few things I _can’t_ do. I can’t make someone fall in love with you.”

 

The roar Jafar let out was deafening and Harry saw his chance.

 

“Tell him to become a genie!” Harry whisper-shouted to Genie.

 

“What?!” Genie exclaimed.

 

“What was that?” Jafar bellowed. “What did you say?”

 

“Uh… I was just thinking… maybe… you’d like to become a genie? To be able to grant any wish?”

 

Genie threw a quick glance over his shoulder and Harry nodded encouragingly. He knew exactly what he was doing. Or… at least almost exactly. As long as Jafar accepted the offer, everything would work out just as Harry had planned. And if the evil smile spreading across Jafar’s face was any indication, he was indeed walking straight into Harry’s trap.

 

“Yes! Finally, someone here who knows how to help!” Jafar’s deep voice rang through the room. “Genie, I wish for you to make me the most powerful genie in the world!”

 

Closing his eyes, Genie raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Lightning struck through the room, from the entrance all the way through the air until it reached Jafar. A loud bang followed and then you could see that Jafar’s skin had gotten a new tint of purple in it.

 

“Aah, yes, I can feel the power rushing through my veins!” he yelled, raising his tensed arms into the air in a victorious post.

 

“Aren’t you forgetting something, Jafar?” Harry called out and came out from his hiding spot within the shadows.

 

“You!” Jafar roared. “How many times do I have to kill you?”

 

“Only once, if you had just been successful.”

 

“Oh, I will be sure to be that now. I’m the Sultan of Agrabah, the most powerful sorcerer in the world and the most powerful genie in the world. You can do _nothing_ to stop me now!”

 

“Actually, I don’t have to do anything. You have trapped yourself in this, you see. Because when you became a genie, the prescription came with a side note, but I don’t suppose you read that, did you? This is how it is: A genie can only grant the wishes of others. A genie can only obey its master, not itself. A genie is _bound_ to serve until someone wishes them to be free. You are trapped within your own powers, Jafar. It’s over!”

 

While Harry had spoken, the two wristbands that showed Jafar’s boundary had appeared and at the very moment Harry finished his speech, Jafar’s new residence fell out of thin air and onto the floor: a black oil lamp. As it came to a still on the floor, Jafar was instantly pulled into it. His protesting screams filled the room, but no one came to his aid. Instead they all watched as he became smaller and smaller and then disappeared within the lamp.

 

At once, all Jafar’s evil spells were lifted. Draco and Genie were free of their chains, and Lucius was once again wearing the turban of a sultan. The sun shone in through the grand windows; the dark clouds that previously shadowed the palace had dispersed and everything was back to normal.

 

Genie walked over to the lamp laying on the floor and picked it up. He turned to Harry with it and looked at him expectantly.

 

“I suppose that you’re going to wish this away, aren’t you?” There was a very small tint of sadness in his voice, and it made Harry’s heart burst.

 

“No,” Harry said. “You can do that yourself. Because I told you from the beginning, I was going to use my last wish to set you free. And that’s what I’m going to do. Genie, I wish you to be free.”

 

There was no loud bang this time. Just the silent clatter of metal falling onto marble, as Genie’s wristbands unlocked and fell to the floor.

 

“Thank you,” he whispered through tears and the widest smile Harry had ever seen. “Thank you so much, Harry. You truly are a diamond.”

 

Harry looked confusedly at Genie. “What do you mean?”

 

“You become a diamond by holding on to your dreams even when there’s nothing left,” Genie said. “And when you then proceed to use your abilities to grant someone else’s dream.”

 

And Harry understood. The old man that once had helped him to survive was the man who now stood before him. He had never been a true genie, but simply a guardian angel who looked out for Harry. An angel who had taken the form of a guarding genie when Harry had needed it. Harry nodded approvingly towards the man, hoping it was enough for the time being as a thanks for everything. Then he turned to face Draco and Lucius while Genie got to work with wishing Jafar’s oil lamp to disappear from all who wished to find it.

 

Draco immediately threw his arms around Harry and pulled him into a tight hug before kissing his cheek. He whispered his thanks over and over as Harry held him in return. Harry watched this prince of wonders and was once again reminded of how deeply he loved him. They were both distracted from these activities, though, when Lucius cleared his throat.

 

“My apologies, your majesty,” Harry said as he took a small step away from Draco, “I should have kept my distance. It won’t happen again.”

 

“So, so, my son. That I certainly don’t hope for. You are still meaning to marry Draco, are you not?”

 

“Yes, I do wish to marry him but… there’s something you need to know first.”

 

“I already know,” Lucius interrupted. “Jafar accidentally told me in one of his grand monologues. About how he had gotten rid of the diamond in the rough, the street rat that pretended to be royalty:Harry Potter.”

 

“Then you know that I can’t marry him. The law says —”

 

“Who cares about the law? Draco loves you and you love him. What else can I wish for? And I am the sultan after all. I can just… change the law.”

 

“Would you really do that, father?” Draco asked incredulously.

 

“Of course, Draco, my starling. I’d do anything for you. Let’s get on to plan the wedding. We’ll have it tomorrow at the time that the sun sets!”

 

“But…” Harry cut in. “I won’t be sultan, right? That’ll be Draco…?”

 

“No, no, no!” Lucius laughed. “Of course not. You will rule! Draco made that clear when he came out that whoever he chose to marry would be the one to rule Agrabah.”

 

“But I can’t rule a country! I’m just a street rat!”

 

“No, you’re not,” Genie cut in. “You are a hero and a diamond. You are no longer just a diamond in the rough; you’ve gone past that. And I promise that you’ll be just fine. Do you trust me?”

 

Genie winked before snapping his fingers and then he disappeared, leaving Harry to stare into the thin air with a heavy feeling in his chest.

 

“He’s right, you know,” Draco said as he sneaked his arms around Harry’s waist.

 

“Yeah,” Harry breathed. “He usually is.”

 

Smiling, he tilted his head slightly upwards and pressed his lips onto Draco’s. When they broke apart, Lucius was nowhere to be seen. They were alone. Draco initiated another kiss, and when that ended, another one followed and then another one. Until they are interrupted by some jealous chattering. Beside them, were Abu and Carpet, and they both wanted to know what had happened after Harry had run into the palace to save everyone.

 

They all went to Harry’s room and sat down on his bed. Then Harry and Draco told their stories and ended them with telling their two dear friends that they’d be wed the day after.

 

And then they lived happily ever after.

 

* * *

* * *

 

“I must admit,” you say to the man once he has frown silent, “that was quite the fairytale.”

 

“What?” the man exclaims. “It is no fairytale. It is a true story!”

 

You laugh at him. You already knew that the man was slightly crazy, that had been evident from the beginning. But for him to believe such a story? That was something else.

 

“Alright, it’s your choice to believe it or not, I guess. But let me tell you. The story about this lamp is true, and you’re loss to not buy it.”

 

The man starts to pack down is little collection of junk. Just as you’re about to turn and walk away, you see the moonlight reflect on the man’s skin and you see that it has a tint of blue. You stop in your tracks and look at him more intently, before making up your mind.

 

“I’ll take it!” you say. “After all, it is a whole new world.”

 

The man smiles at you and hands you the lamp.

 

“Thank you,” he says. “You don’t have to pay for it, I give it to you for free. After all, that’s the least I can do for a diamond in the rough.”

* * *

 

~THE END~

* * *

* * *

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you soooo much for reading this! Please let me know any thoughts you have by commenting!
> 
> Also, I would like to thank A for the amazing beta! They did some amazing work with helping me out getting this right in the end. If you readers spotted any remaining mistakes, they are all mine. 
> 
> Once again, thank you for reading, and I hope that it was worth the time it took to go through.
> 
> All the love,
> 
> XX
> 
> Anonymous ;)


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